Tag: Horowitz on OTTBs

Horowitz On OTTBs Presented by Excel Equine: Grand Lily’s Retirement Plans Pay Off For Her And Her Racing Connections

Racehorse trainers will be part of many decisions in their horses' careers. Dirt or turf. Sprint or route. Put on blinkers or take them off.

Trainer Linda Loftin was part of the two biggest decisions someone in racing can make for a horse's welfare when it comes to Grand Lily.

— Number one: when to retire a horse.

— Number two: what that horse should do next after racing.

In addition to being in Grand Lily's best interest in terms of her physical and mental well-being, these decisions are also poised to reap financial benefits for her owner, Dennis Ackerman.

The example of Grand Lily has the potential to expand the economy of the Thoroughbred beyond the breeding and racing industries.

“Lily,” a 2013 grey Colorado-bred mare, was Ackerman's first racehorse, bought for $3,700 at the 2014 Silver Cup Yearling Sale in Colorado. However, this isn't his first rodeo. He's a farrier and a breeder of sporthorses in Colorado. P.S. Arianna, a 2001 bay Trakehner mare that Ackerman bred, rose up the ranks in the equestrian sport of eventing to compete at the Kentucky Three-Day Event in 2017 with 21-year-old rider Madeline Backus. (Remember that name, because it will come into play later with Grand Lily.)

Considering that many Thoroughbreds bred for racing never make it to the track, let alone win, let alone earn prize money greater than their purchase price, Grand Lily was relatively successful for being Ackerman's first racehorse.

Ackerman teamed up with Loftin to train Grand Lily for a racing career. Loftin, a Colorado-native from Black Forest near Colorado Springs, left her home state in 1989 for Kentucky.

“I was just barely 22 and trying to get into trouble,” she said, with a laugh.

She studied and worked at the Kentucky Horse Park, where, among several responsibilities, she helped care for racing legends like John Henry and Forego at the Hall of Champions.

“Forego, I loved that horse, man,” Loftin said. “That's the first time I ever laid hands on a racehorse.”

The racing bug bit Loftin. She then worked as an exercise rider, as well as in sales prep for breeding farms like Lane's End and Three Chimneys. The most famous horse she says she galloped was Tejano Run, the runner-up to Thunder Gulch in the 1995 Kentucky Derby for trainer Kenny McPeek.

Loftin returned to Colorado in 2013 to be closer to her parents after the Black Forest Fire.

“I couldn't find a job,” she said. “So, I worked at a kennel, and I worked at Big R. Through Big R [in Falcon, Colo.], I started meeting people from the racetrack.”

Loftin met Ackerman through Big R. Ackerman was looking for someone to prepare his first racing filly for a career on the track.

In 2018, following two seasons in which Loftin would work with Grand Lily in the offseason before the horse would go to a trainer at the track, Loftin decided to get her trainer's license. The first horse she ran under her new stable was Grand Lily in the third race, a 5 1/2-furlong maiden for Colorado-bred fillies and mares, at Arapahoe Park on June 11, 2018. It was also the first career ride for 25-year-old apprentice Alyssa Morales, who, coincidentally, received her jockey's license after doing her practical exam before fellow riders and stewards aboard Grand Lily.

Grand Lily broke on top in a field of six and settled under Morales into company down the backstretch before taking control in the homestretch and pulling away by 2 1/2 lengths to win at 7-1 odds.

Grand Lily's maiden win at Arapahoe Park in June 2018 represented the first career victory for owner Dennis Ackerman, trainer Linda Loftin, and jockey Alyssa Morales

“She pretty much took care of me,” the jockey said. “She loaded right into the gates. Since I had already broken out of the gates with her, I was really confident that she knew what she was going to do the rest of the way.”

Grand Lily ran five more times at Arapahoe Park and at Turf Paradise in Arizona, but her best finish after breaking her maiden was fourth place beaten 9 1/4 lengths in a $10,000 claimer.

So, Loftin was part of “decision number one” for Grand Lily. She and Ackerman decided to retire the mare.

“She hated being a racehorse,” Loftin said. “She doesn't want to be a stall horse at all. She was really kind of nasty. I was lucky I got a win out of her.”

Grand Lily's temperament at the racetrack and her (lack of) effort in races were how she communicated that she was no longer suited for a racing career. Ackerman said he received a text message from Loftin about this.

“Lily just got tired of the track, and she didn't like that life,” Ackerman said. “They were down in Phoenix, and I get a text, 'That's it. Lily is done. She is tired of this life and she wants a new career.' And I said, 'OK, then that's it, we're done.' We respect that, and we'll find something else. That's the point where Linda and I come from: we both want sound, happy horses.”

Ackerman said he felt an obligation to ensure that his horse could be most effective in transitioning from racing to post-racing. He retained ownership in Grand Lily, and Loftin continued to train her. Loftin emphasized skills the mare would need for her next sport, for her next home.

“I'm good about getting nervous horses to calm down,” she said. “I teach my horses to use their whole body. It also keeps them sounder.”

This is something racing trainers can do, even while their horses are on the track. It's a small but important investment that can pay dividends for both the horses' well-being and their financial value. The former addresses a necessary issue that may be the fulcrum on which horse racing's future and social license to operate teeters. If that isn't enough motivation, and unfortunately for many in racing it isn't, the latter provides a financial incentive and grows the economy for Thoroughbreds.

Loftin first introduced Lily to dressage, considered a foundation to build upon for all equestrian sports. Some racing trainers even incorporate dressage movements into their race training to emphasize suppleness, balance, and relaxation.

“Mom and I would play with the dressage letters, and she would read the dressage [tests], and we would go and just do walk-trot dressage, teach her to bend, teach her to give,” Loftin said.

Grand Lily then went to a hunter-jumper trainer in Colorado. That gave Grand Lily a foundation in jumping, but it wasn't the right discipline just yet.

“She was too fast for hunters. They want them to go duh-dut, duh-dut, duh-dut,” said Loftin, demonstrating a metronomic cadence that makes a successful hunter, the sport where horses are judged on their ability to maintain a steady rhythm around a course of fences and on the flat. “I would go to Castle Rock with the hunter-jumper trainer and get on her every once in a while, and that's how we figured out she wasn't going to be a good hunter because she just wants to go. She wants to have a little more excitement.”

So then, Loftin was part of “decision number two” for Grand Lily. Just like a trainer may advise that a horse is more suited to running on dirt or on turf, Loftin told Ackerman that she thought Grand Lily was more suited to eventing. It's the type of decision that requires racing trainers to have some knowledge of equestrian sports outside of racing. However, that knowledge of and exposure to what could be incredibly influential in determining the right fit for a Thoroughbred post-racing, even if racing trainers don't have riding experience outside of racing, are more accessible than ever, thanks to the visibility of such a wide range of equestrian sports at the Retired Racehorse Project Thoroughbred Makeover. Or, just start by watching The Friday Show about “What Makes Up The Thoroughbred Makeover?”.

“She came back, and I'm like, 'Dennis, send her to Laura Backus. You know, you guys are good friends and you've known each other forever,'” Loftin said about having Grand Lily go to the Pendragon Stud Equestrian Center in Larkspur, Colo., where Ackerman has worked for decades as a farrier and where the Ackerman-bred P.S. Arianna was based on her journey with Laura's daughter, Madeline, en route to the Kentucky Three-Day Event.

“Her best trait,” Ackerman said about Madeline, “is to sit up there on a horse and remain quiet and relaxed and transmit quiet confidence to the horse. And then, the horse picks up on that and says, 'This is easy. She's showing me how to do this. We'll do it.'”

Eventing's combination of being rhythmic in the dressage phase, bold to the jumps on the cross country course, and steady and balanced over the fences in the stadium jumping, plus the routine of training and being turned out on the farm, suited Grand Lily to a tee.

Grand Lily after her lone racetrack victory.

“She's got really nice movement, which is why I think they originally thought she should go be a hunter,” Madeline Backus said. “But, she's just a little bit on the hotter side, which, of course, I love. She isn't that steady, quiet, almost-dull ride to the fences. She gears up and wants to do it, which isn't the hunter ride. It's exactly why she's really good for eventing because she sees a jump and goes after it, not in an anxious way but like, 'Oh, that's mine, I'm going to go do that.'”

Lily quickly blossomed into one of the most noticed rookie event horses in the United States Eventing Association's Area IX that covers the states of Colorado, Idaho, South Dakota, and Utah.

The mare and Madeline finished third of 12 in the horse's first recognized event at the Spring Gulch Horse Trials in Colorado in August 2022, two months after Backus started training Lily for eventing. She then finished first out of 30 at The Event at Archer in Wyoming and first of 16 at The Event at Skyline in Utah. She closed out her rookie year with a third out of 19 at the Tomora Horse Trials in Colorado.

In four events in 2022 at eventing's Beginner Novice level that has a maximum jump height of 2-feet-7, Grand Lily incurred zero jump or time penalties on cross country or in stadium jumping.

“She's very game, and she's also very brave,” Madeline Backus said. “She sees a jump and is like, 'You point me at it, and I will go over it.'”

Plus, Grand Lily's movement and temperament on the flat have earned her strong marks in the dressage phase.

“We kind of joke that she has a bit of fairy dust,” Madeline said, “because her dressage is still improving because she's very green with dressage, but she just goes out there and is consistent in her rhythm and the judges really like her.”

Grand Lily finished as the High Point Beginner Novice Horse in the USEA's Area IX for 2022. Ackerman and Loftin said they plan to attend the Area IX banquet on Feb. 4 where Grand Lily and Madeline Backus will be recognized, just like how the racing owner and trainer celebrated their horse's successes at the Central Colorado Eventing banquet on Jan. 21.

“She knows she's something special and expects to be treated like that, but she's also got a very kind heart,” Ackerman said of his racehorse-turned-eventer.

Lily and Madeline are spending the winter in Florida. They earned a blue ribbon in their first event there, the Rocking Horse Winter I Horse Trials Jan. 28-29. Their final score of 27.7 was best of 11 in their Beginner Novice division. They continued their streak of zero cross country or stadium jumping penalties. Grand Lily is for sale, and her value as an eventer is now more than it ever was as a racehorse. Her sale price is listed at $24,000.

“I told Madeline the reason I have Lily with her is I want a good foundation on Lily so she knows the job at hand and knows how to accept a rider,” Ackerman said. “Then, she can go off and be owned by an amateur who can make her a rest-of-life partner.”

Ackerman will reap the benefits of that. All because he and Loftin didn't actually “retire” their retired racehorse. They embraced that the Thoroughbred is an elite athlete. They found the right sport for Grand Lily to showcase her physical and mental athletic prowess. They've provided the best care they possibly could for Grand Lily. All of that means they can cash in on their winner in so many ways that will benefit the sport of horse racing and the Thoroughbred economy as a whole.

Announcing horse races inspired Jonathan Horowitz to become an advocate for off-track Thoroughbreds, as well as to learn to event on OTTBs and to expand his announcing of and writing about equine sports to horse shows around the United States. He also works for the United States Eventing Association and runs the Super G Sporthorses eventing barn with his wife, Ashley. He can be reached on Facebook and Twitter at @jjhorowitz.

The post Horowitz On OTTBs Presented by Excel Equine: Grand Lily’s Retirement Plans Pay Off For Her And Her Racing Connections appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Horowitz On OTTBs Presented by Excel Equine: Finding New Messages For Helping Retired Racehorses

If there's one thing that's predictable when it comes to horses, it's that they're unpredictable. And, that's a big part of their intrigue and attraction.

In 2022, a year when crowds returned to racetracks at full capacity, an 80-1 longshot won the Kentucky Derby and a once-in-a-generation star emerged that was worthy enough to be mentioned in the same breath as Secretariat.

The same could be said about retired racehorses in 2022. At the beginning of the year, I could never have predicted I'd be covering the following incredible storylines.

These stories give much for the horse racing industry to celebrate, and that's just what I've presented in my once-a-month column. There are racehorses that now compete at horse shows, give lessons to children, provide therapy, and are beloved by their owners much like they were by their fans when at the track.

However, when it comes time for the horse racing industry to craft a message about retired racehorses, unfortunately, it's become entirely predictable. From racing TV crews that showed up for the Thoroughbred Makeover to panels about aftercare to almost every time people in racing that have a platform to make a difference start talking about retired racehorses, it goes something like this: “Aftercare is so important. It's so great that these horses can have second careers.”

And, that's usually the end of the conversation, the end of the story, the end of the lip service that needs to be paid to an issue that the racing industry (at least) talks about being so important.

Just to illustrate how absurd and unproductive this surface-level messaging is, even from the leading aftercare organizations in the country, imagine turning on a football game and remarking, “It's so great that Tony Romo can have a second career as an announcer.” No shit. Most athletes, human or equine, generally retire from sport at a relatively young age with some degree of talent that can and hopefully will be utilized because they have a whole lot of life still in front of them. Or, imagine attending a conference about cancer research and the messaging stops at, “Cancer research is so important.” Cool. What's next?

So, it's no wonder that after Dave Johnson and Tom Durkin brought the house down in the “Storytellers of the Game – Racing's Legendary Announcers” panel at the 2022 Global Symposium on Racing, most of the attendees shuffled out of Salon A&B before the “Life After the Track – Second Careers & Retirement” panel.

Jessica Paquette, the announcer at Parx and a “Thoroughbred aftercare advocate,” which she includes in her Twitter profile, posted, “I am disappointed by how lightly attended the Aftercare panel is. This is an issue that impacts every stakeholder in racing and we should all be learning how we can do better for the horses.”

To which Harris Auerbach, the well-respected managing partner of M.Auerbach, LLC. who is also a great supporter of aftercare, responded, “Not to make any excuses as I think it's one of the more important panels at the symposium, but the panel itself (even with Joell [Dunlap] who is a superstar) didn't exactly have the panache of previous editions. Like it or not, it's the sizzle that sells.  Always.”

With all this in mind, here are a few ideas that horse racing can embrace to create some “sizzle” about aftercare. But, first, here are a few ideas to stop embracing.

  • Stop leading off with “aftercare is so important.” Frankly, if someone in horse racing doesn't realize this by now, they either don't care to or never will.
  • Stop talking about how when horses retire how important it is that they find their “forever home.” Breeders don't talk about how special their baby horses are and hope they find their forever home at a yearling sale. It's unrealistic. Racing connections with retired racehorses should talk about finding the “right home” for their horses. The “right home” may end up changing depending on the circumstances. Racing connections hardly ever provide a “forever home” to their horses, so why do they expect people getting their horses off the track to do the same?

Now for some new ideas that will hopefully create some sizzle.

  • Start talking about what retired racehorses do the same way the industry talks about what racehorses do — their performances, their abilities, their strengths and weaknesses, their personalities, their work ethic. That means learning about what they actually do (for example, see The Friday Show about “What Makes Up The Thoroughbred Makeover?”), rather than just lumping anything that's not racing under the vague umbrella of “second careers.” There are plenty of stories to create sizzle and capture an audience's attention. This column is a testament to that.
  • Start keeping track of racehorses beyond their racing prime. That means that The Jockey Club should make the effort to maintain a database of Thoroughbreds that doesn't go cold after horses' last races. The Thoroughbred Incentive Program is a start toward a more complete tracking of retired racehorses.
  • Start taking credit for the influence that the Thoroughbred breed has on other breeds. Sporthorse athletes, particularly eventers, search for horses with Thoroughbred blood, even if they're crosses of breeds and not pure Thoroughbreds. So, racing breeders and auction houses can market to an even wider audience and can celebrate the successes racing bloodlines have beyond the track.
  • Start creating syndicates for retired racehorses. Many syndicates, like MyRacehorse and other racing clubs, are about the experiences that racehorses provide, such as going to the track for their races or training. Seeing your horse competing in a cool atmosphere at a horse show could be similarly exciting.
  • Start offering direct financial support to people caring for and working with retired racehorses, rather than focusing fundraising efforts solely on non-profit organizations. More and more, including more than half of the horses that competed at the 2022 Thoroughbred Makeover, OTTBs are acquired directly from racing connections rather than through an aftercare organization or reseller. Support for retired racehorses can come in the form of prize money through horse shows, such as what Bally's Arapahoe Park offers at local shows in Colorado. Imagine a big-money Breeders' Cup for Thoroughbred sporthorses that could be supported through nominations by breeders of their horses, similar to how the races are funded.
  • Start having horse racing media cover the breed as a whole and following the racing stars beyond the track. For example, Whitmore was just as intriguing competing at the Thoroughbred Makeover as he was racing at the Breeders' Cup.

Some of these ideas, at the very least, may keep people in the room for a panel about aftercare, because Auerbach is spot-on about what is needed for that to happen. It's a safe bet that racehorses, whether retired or still racing, will be part of compelling stories in 2023. Let's celebrate them and use them as a catalyst to give back to the horses that give their all for our enjoyment.

Announcing horse races inspired Jonathan Horowitz to become an advocate for off-track Thoroughbreds, as well as to learn to event on OTTBs and to expand his announcing of and writing about equine sports to horse shows around the United States. He also announces a variety of sports around the Denver-metro area, where he and his wife, Ashley, run the Super G Sporthorses eventing barn. He can be reached on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube at @jjhorowitz.

The post Horowitz On OTTBs Presented by Excel Equine: Finding New Messages For Helping Retired Racehorses appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Horowitz On OTTBs Presented by Excel Equine: Prince Of New York Shows New Potential For Marketing Thoroughbred Stallions

When Prince of New York arrived at Morning Line Equestrian in Paris, Ky., in the spring of 2021, his new owners needed to come up with a barn name.

Chris and Celia Bennings' first idea was “Pony,” the first letter of each word in the horse's name.

“We thought that would be cute, but then of course my wife looks at me and was like, 'A 40-year-old with a big stallion called Pony, that'll go over well,'” Chris said with the deadpan delivery of a standup comic.

So, the Bennings instead decided to call him “The Stallion” around the barn.

The fact that a generic moniker like “The Stallion” is specific enough to identify Prince of New York is notable. He is the only stallion out of the approximately 50 horses at Morning Line Equestrian. He was one of just two stallions among the 281 horses competing at the 2022 Retired Racehorse Project Thoroughbred Makeover at the Kentucky Horse Park.

Prince of New York stood out, and people took notice. The 6-year-old dark bay New York-bred finished first out of 79 in Show Jumpers and second out of 74 in Show Hunters. He won the People's Choice Award.

Prince of New York represents a specialized path taken by owners of Thoroughbred stallions. While not entirely unique—the second stallion at the 2022 Thoroughbred Makeover was Comanche Chief, who was 12th in Barrel Racing—it's quite rare.

“Having a stallion made me be a little more ambitious about making sure my training and my preparation was ready,” Chris Bennings said.

Three weeks after the Thoroughbred Makeover and 13 miles away from the Kentucky Horse Park at Keeneland in Lexington was the Breeders' Cup world championships, where Flightline followed the more common and sought-after plan for Thoroughbred stallions: Win a career-defining race and then retire to stud to reap large stud fees for their owners. (See “Commentary: The Problem With … The Race To The Breeding Shed”

Flightline is now one of many stallions at farms in Kentucky whose purpose is to pass on their genetics to future generations and continue the Thoroughbred breed's legacy in racing. Calling Flightline “The Stallion” at Lane's End would be silly at a farm with 22 stallions standing at stud.

The stallions that are not able to go from racing to breeding, either because the demand for breeding to them does not exist or they're not viable for breeding, are usually gelded so that they become better suited to a new career as sport or pleasure horses.

Prince of New York was a situation somewhere in the middle. He raced eight times from his 2-year-old year in 2018 to his 4-year-old year in 2020. He won twice. But, victories in a maiden claiming race at Aqueduct and in a $7,500 claiming race at Finger Lakes don't exactly get a horse to Lane's End or a full book of broodmares showing up to the farm.

Still, the Bennings' main purpose for acquiring Prince of New York was for breeding, with the idea that he could pass on his genetics for sporthorse purposes based on his conformation and movement.

Prince of New York finished first of 79 Show Jumper competitors at the Thoroughbred Makeover

The Thoroughbred breed is experiencing a revival off the track, thanks to events like the Thoroughbred Makeover. Certain breeding lines are showing an aptitude for certain equestrian sports, such as Kitten's Joy for dressage and Fusaichi Pegasus for eventing. However, those stallions were marketed exclusively for racing purposes, and the high cost of breeding to them would have been a hindrance to sporthorse breeders.

“As we've done the Makeover, my wife and I have paid attention to breeding, and there really isn't a whole lot, maybe a handful, of Thoroughbred stallions for sporthorse breeding,” Bennings said. “So, we always kept our eye out for a nice stallion to bring along.”

In Ireland, Thoroughbred stallions like Emperor Augustus, Master Imp, and Pointilliste feature prominently in the Irish Sport Horse studbook. Higher percentages of Thoroughbred blood are sought after for suitability in equestrian sports like eventing. (See “Horowitz On OTTBs, Presented By Excel Equine: Thanks To Genetics, Thoroughbreds Are The Ultimate Shapeshifters”

“There needs to be more Thoroughbred stallions,” Bennings said. “When we looked at our own herd, we have really nice Warmblood mares, but our biggest fear is breeding to another big Warmblood, and they get too heavy.”

Bennings felt that Prince of New York would need to prove himself as a sporthorse to be marketable as a sporthorse stallion. The original plan was for “The Stallion” to compete at the 2021 Thoroughbred Makeover, but Bennings opted to take more time so that Prince of New York would be better prepared. (While horses are only eligible to compete in the Thoroughbred Makeover once, the Retired Racehorse Project rules allow horses to be turned out for a year, so long as their full-time training for their sporthorse discipline doesn't begin before December during the year prior to their competing in the Makeover.)

“When he got here, I played with him for a couple of days, but we decided that was going to be way too quick of a turnover for him,” Bennings said. “So, we turned him out and bred him and then started up January the next year for this year.”

The extra time to settle into his new environment off the track and to foster a relationship with Bennings paid dividends for Prince of New York.

“The movement and the jump, he was very easy to train,” Bennings said. “He took to the jumping immediately. It was very natural for him.”

Showing a stallion can be more nuanced than showing a gelding or a mare.

“I really think it's a mentality you have to be in,” Bennings said. “How do I take him places where he mentally is going to think he's the only horse there?”

Bennings would lunge or warm up Prince of New York with as much isolation as was possible in the busy show environment at the Kentucky Horse Park, sometimes at unorthodox hours.

“He's got to be thinking about me, and I've got to be thinking about him,” he said. “The distraction is I'm looking for every other horse to keep him away from, and he's looking at every other horse to get close to.”

Prince of New York

After making the Finale in Show Jumpers and Show Hunters, Bennings opted to hand walk “The Stallion” in the TCA Covered Arena the day before to acclimate him to the busy show ring rather than ride him. When it came time to compete for the top honors at the largest Thoroughbred-only horse show in the world, Prince of New York was all business.

“There's just a different quality, they definitely have a different shine to them and a presence, and I saw him in the ring familiarization and just really a gorgeous horse handling the environment really well,” announcer Ashley Horowitz commented on the Thoroughbred Makeover Finale livestream.

Bennings said that one of the Field Hunter judges inquired afterward about breeding to Prince of New York. Should Jenna Denver decide to breed her chestnut mare She's a Bold One, who was first in Eventing and the winner of the Carolyn Karlson Trophy as the overall Thoroughbred Makeover champion for 2022, crossing her with Prince of New York may very well produce the ultimate Thoroughbred sporthorse.

Prince of New York's first foal was born this year to a Warmblood mare to be a sporthorse prospect. Bennings has four Warmblood sporthorse mares and one Thoroughbred race mare currently in foal to Prince of New York. The Warmblood mares were bred through artificial insemination, while the Thoroughbred mare was bred through live cover so that the foal will be eligible to race under Jockey Club rules.

“The Stallion” has had time off while breeding before returning to training, but Bennings said that going forward he would like to continue to have Prince of New York in training while breeding him, provided the horse is mentally up for it.

“Finding a good enough horse, period, and then to find one that's intact that has a brain, that's what took us so long to find him,” he said.

Now that they've found him, Prince of New York could become a king of breeding top-class Thoroughbred sporthorses and bring a new dimension to the Thoroughbred breeding industry in the United States.

Just like Thoroughbreds are showing their versatility competing in a variety of sports on and off the racetrack, horses like Prince of New York have the potential to showcase that versatility in the breeding shed as well.

Announcing horse races inspired Jonathan Horowitz to become an advocate for off-track Thoroughbreds, as well as to learn to event on OTTBs and to expand his announcing of and writing about equine sports to horse shows around the United States. He also announces a variety of sports around the Denver-metro area, where he and his wife, Ashley, run the Super G Sporthorses eventing barn. He can be reached on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube at @jjhorowitz.

The post Horowitz On OTTBs Presented by Excel Equine: Prince Of New York Shows New Potential For Marketing Thoroughbred Stallions appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Horowitz On OTTBs Presented by Excel Equine: A Partnership Worthy Of A (Godolphin) Blue Ribbon

There are many decisions to be made in the life of a racehorse, with no guarantee that they will work out. When 15-year-old Isabel Wells calmly walked 5-year-old chestnut gelding Hieronymus over to the final obstacle of the competitive trail course during the finale of the 2022 Retired Racehorse Project Thoroughbred Makeover and raised a flag connected to a pulley as the final test of their partnership, it was the culmination of many decisions that all came together to create a perfect moment for horse and rider.

Fittingly, the flag was blue, the same color as the silks Hieronymus wore representing Godolphin, his breeder and owner, during a nine-race career from August 2019 to June 2021. Godolphin Lifetime Care was the sponsor of the competitive trail discipline at the Thoroughbred Makeover, reflecting the commitment and investment the racing operation founded by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum of Dubai has made in Thoroughbred aftercare. Godolphin has been a leading supporter of the Retired Racehorse Project since a visit by Godolphin representatives from around the world to the first Thoroughbred Makeover held at the Kentucky Horse Park in 2015.

The victory by a Godolphin horse in the Godolphin-sponsored discipline also put the spotlight on the incredible journey of a young rider that is poised to make a big difference in Thoroughbred aftercare. Wells was diagnosed with stage 4 leukemia when she was 3 years old. At age 6, she went into remission. She started riding horses when she was 10.

“I tried sports and all these different things and I had a year where I really didn't do anything,” Wells said. “My aunt was like, 'Well, I ride at this stable in Fair Grove, [Missouri]. You should come take lessons.' I took a lesson with Tim Brock, and it grew from there. I fell in love with everything about it.”

Wells' composure while riding and while speaking about her horse to the crowd at the Kentucky Horse Park and on the livestream of the biggest Thoroughbred-only horse show in the world were well beyond what one would expect from a 15-year-old.

“Oh my god, I cried,” said Emma Lovatt, who oversees the U.S. operations of Godolphin Lifetime Care. “I cried. That's how much it means to us to have our horses going on and being successful. He's not going to be a champion show jumper, but he's proved that he's the bomb-proof horse. He's quiet, kind, and had a 15-year-old riding him. And, he's a Thoroughbred. Some of them have these stigmas that they're hard to handle, and he just went out and said, 'No, I'm not, I'm easy, and I love doing what I'm doing.' It's important, and it's very heartwarming to see these horses that we've bred and foaled.”

Lovatt and Wells connected in the warmup ring on the morning of the Thoroughbred Makeover Finale on Oct. 15. Lovatt presented Wells with an idea—that Godolphin would sponsor Wells for the 2023 Thoroughbred Makeover, while Wells would be an ambassador for Godolphin.

“She's kind of funny because she does not understand how good she is,” Brock, Wells' trainer at BC Stables and Training Center in Fair Grove, Mo., said. “There were times through this that she's like, 'I can't do this. I can't go in with these other people.' And, I kept telling her, 'You're as good as everybody else.' Obviously, that showed because she did all of that work.”

When it comes to racehorses, the Godolphin team understands what it takes to do all the work—from breeding to racing all around the world. Since 1992, 6,512 horses in 39,536 races with 7,737 wins, 1,886 of those in stakes and 382 in Grade or Group 1 (stats as of Oct. 24, 2022). Godolphin's devotion to horses representing the Godolphin blue on the track is matched by their commitment to finding their racehorses a new career after they finish racing. At the 2022 Thoroughbred Makeover, there were more horses among the final entries that Godolphin previously ran than any other racing operation with nine competitors, eight of them being homebreds.

“They were very appreciative and very excited about their horses being there,” Brock said about Godolphin. “That tells us that their mentality for their horses' futures is in the right place, and that's the people we want to deal with.”

Hieronymus, with Florent Geroux up, won his racing debut at a mile on turf at Ellis Park in 2019.

Hieronymus was one of those homebreds. Trained by Brad Cox, the chestnut colt won his debut as a 2-year-old in a one-mile maiden special weight at Ellis Park in Kentucky on August 11, 2019. Hieronymus would go on to win four more starts, including the final race of his career in the Mystic Lake Mile on turf at Canterbury Park in Minnesota on June 23, 2021.

“Here comes Hieronymus!” Canterbury track announcer Paul Allen growled in his call of the race that he described as a “spine-tingler.”

After the win, Hieronymus would record four more timed half-mile workouts over the next two months but would not race again.

“He ended up on a vet's list because of a large ankle, and he kept getting put on it even though he x-rayed clean,” Lovatt said. “So, rather than go through any more rigmarole with that, we brought him home.”

Knowing when to stop racing is just as important a decision as choosing what race to enter.

“Their career in racing is incredibly short,” said Lovatt, who has worked with Godolphin for nearly 20 years in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. “They've got 15 to 20 years after racing that they can still do and give and love and have joy from. You've got to remember that and focus on that and say, 'OK, we want them to be the best racehorse, but we also want them to be the best they can be after that.'”

Godolphin has created a pipeline for their retired racehorses. Mares go into the breeding operation, while geldings go into Godolphin Lifetime Care, which has branches in America, Australia, Europe, and Japan.

“Lifetime care has always been a part of our business,” Lovatt said. “We didn't put a name on it until about 2015. You breed this number of horses, you've got to be able to take care of them.”

Following an extensive initial evaluation of their health and suitability for a new career, these geldings are connected with training programs that can be either aftercare organizations or individual sporthorse trainers. Hieronymus, along with Change of Fortune, an unraced 3-year-old bay gelding bred by Godolphin, went to CANTER Kentucky.

“They were wonderful to deal with and gave me all the records,” CANTER Kentucky's trainer, Ashley Watts, said of Godolphin. “Very, very easy, very professional.”

From there, Hieronymus and Change of Fortune were rehomed to BC Stables. Brock, fellow BC Stables trainer Nathan Bradley, and student Isabel Wells were looking to compete in the Thoroughbred Makeover.

“We did a lot of the Mustang Makeovers, and what kind of turns me off about those is that you have 100 days, and when that's finished, those horses are auctioned off at the show,” Brock said. “With the Thoroughbred Makeover, you've got more time, and those horses are also further along when we get them.”

Bradley would partner with Change of Fortune, Wells with Hieronymus.

“[Brock] told me he needed a horse for a kid,” Watts said about Wells, a student at Fair Grove High School. “I was picturing a little kid, not Isabel, who is mature beyond her years. She's like 15 going on 30.”

The horse Wells calls “Gilbert” was her first Thoroughbred. The BC Stables team immediately noticed that the Godolphin horses came with a racetrack education that prepared them to excel in life after the track, even if they weren't initially as familiar with who Godolphin was. Watts, CANTER Kentucky's trainer, laughed when sharing a story about when Bradley, a BC Stables trainer, inquired about the reputation of horses coming from “Go Dolphin,” saying the name of the stable as if he were cheering at SeaWorld.

“Both of those horses came here ready for something else, so obviously they had enough foundation and good handling that when we changed what they were doing, it didn't throw them for a loop,” Brock said. “When you look at a horse that you can change gears with and they immediately take that, that's feel, so that horse has been handled to understand how to deal with pressure or questions. They start looking for an answer rather than a way out.”

Wells and Hieronymus won competitive trail with a calm, steady routine in the finale after being fifth in the preliminaries. They were also eighth in ranch work.

“A lady at my barn said, 'You must still be on cloud nine,' and I was like, 'Oh, I'm not coming down,'” Wells said.

With top-ten finishes in ranch work by Bradley with Change of Fortune and by Brock with both Almanaar and Silver Dollar City, the BC Stables team made their mark.

“I told these guys because it was Nate's and Isabel's first time [at the Makeover],” Brock said, “that when we get there, people are going to look at you. At about day two, they're going to want to be you.' Our horses are quiet and they're good and they do what they're supposed to do. People start looking at you differently and see that these horses can do things out of their normal realm. That's fun for us.”

BC Stables plans to return for the Thoroughbred Makeover in 2023, with Brock saying that they plan to have five riders competing, including Wells with a Godolphin horse.

“She has now given me what her ideal horse is,” Lovatt said. “I will keep an eye out through our rehoming for a good horse for her, and we'll go from there.”

Said Wells: “I'm just super excited. That's really the only words I have for it because after going this year being so impressed with Godolphin and the Retired Racehorse Project, I'm just extremely excited to be part of this.”

Jonathan Horowitz is a long-time fan of racing who went from announcer to eventer with the help of off-track Thoroughbreds (OTTBs). His monthly column details his journey as a rider and his thoughts on aftercare's place in horse racing.

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